About Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 14, 2022)
4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com Wednesday, September 14,2022 Chestatee collecting donations for Backpack Buddies By Erica Jones ejones@dawsonnews.com From now through Sept. 16, residents of Chestatee neighborhood in Dawson County are collecting food and monetary donations to support Backpack Buddies, a program designed to support children in need in the coun ty. Backpack Buddies was started nearly ten years ago and is aimed at supporting underprivileged students in Dawson County by provid ing them with filled back packs containing food provi sions to take home and eat over the weekend. Chestatee has held a food drive each year to support this cause in partnership with New Life Church. According to food drive Chairwoman Barb Dumont, the counselors at each school give the names of children in need to New Life Church. The church packs bags each week to send home with the children when they get on the bus to go home for the week end. Currently, the program is serving about 90 children in the community. As part of the program, the church is able to purchase a great deal of the food from the Atlanta Food Bank, but some of the items they need are not available. Because of this, they are in need of items like peanut butter, individual fruit and applesauce cups and packaged milk that doesn’t require refrigeration. Residents in Chestatee are collecting these items from Sept. 6 through 16, and as of Saturday Sept. 10 Dumont said that the neighborhood had collected nearly $1000 in donations, and that volun teers had already made three trips to the church to drop off cars full of food dona tions. “This neighborhood is so generous,” Dumont said. “It’s such a worthy cause.” Several residents through out the neighborhood have volunteered to put bins out on their front porches for the duration of the drive, so resi dents who want to donate have been able to simply drop their contributions in the nearest bin for the volun teers to then take up to the church. The church is also accepting checks to allow them to purchase food for the program. Those interested in con tributing to Backpack Buddies can contact New Life Church at 706-265- 3811. Erica Jones Dawson County News Volunteers from Chestatee neighborhood in Dawson County stand with some of the donations that have been collected during the neighbor hood's annual food drive for Backpack Buddies. FROM 1A Rezoning Grizzle Road neighborhood plan One of the county rezoning requests is a proposed 332-home neighborhood at Grizzle and Hanging Dog roads. The request previously came to the Dawson County Planning Commission at their Aug. 16 meeting, where they recom mended denial in a 3-0 vote. The Dawson County Board of Commissioners can vote to approve, deny or table the appli cation. Applicant D.R. Horton has requested a rezoning of 333 acres from Residential Sub-Rural to Residential Planned Community. The development’s concept plan shows two points of entry along Grizzle Road and amenities such as a junior Olympic pool, kid’s pool, tennis courts and a club house. Developer consultant Jim King, who spoke at the Aug. 16 meeting on D.R. Horton’s behalf, previously told DCN that the projected price point for the homes is entry-level or around $350,000. County planning commission ers and area residents shared concerns about the proposed neighborhood’s density and the potential impact on traffic given the jagged shape of Grizzle Road and speeding concerns. They also recognized the property’s proximity to the Etowah River, with Chairman Jason Hamby calling the land “environmentally sensitive” and agreeing that any water erosion and runoff from it “would be a concern of all Dawson County citizens.” At the planning commission meeting, King called the request for 332 units “justified” and pointed out that his client’s pro posal wouldn’t be any more dense than many surrounding properties. “Today’s families-at least all of the national builders I work for-everyone’s looking for small er lots,” King said about lot size. “They don’t want to maintain the larger lots anymore. The majority of what my engineering firm designs nowadays are 50 and 60-foot lots.” One of the planning commis sion’s suggested stipulations was that a minimum of 140 acres of the project “be preserved in per petuity as [an] undisturbed con servation area.” King confirmed that his client is additionally willing to do a conservation easement to that effect, but because approval was not recommended, that stipula tion was not put into place. However, the Board of Commissioners could add that condition if they decide to approve the rezoning request. King acknowledged the need for traffic improvements at Dawson Forest and Grizzle roads. He said his client was amenable to a proposed west bound right-turn lane, eastbound left-turn lane and a left turn-only lane and a shared through/right- turn lane separating the south bound approach. Resident Tonia Bagwell went further by suggesting that if the rezoning be approved and the project commences, Dawson Forest Road should be expanded to four lanes, and Grizzle Road should be straight ened. Lee Castleberry Road subdivision plan Flowery Branch-based compa ny Stark Land Development has requested a rezone for 152 more residences in a proposed neigh borhood along Lee Castleberry Road, near Ga. 400. At their Aug. 16 meeting, the Dawson County Planning Commission voted 3-0 to recom mend approval for a request to rezone two parcels totaling 25.35 acres off of the roadway, which sits between Stacie Lane and Lumpkin Campground Road. The proposed rezone from Residential Agricultural to Residential Multi-Family would pin the neighborhood’s overall density at about six units per acre, according to planning docu ments. The development would include 160 townhomes and 40 single-family, semi-detached houses, or a total of 200 residen tial units mixed together, devel oper Billy Stark said on Aug. 16. The planning commission’s vote follows the planning com mission’s recommendation and the Board of Commissioners’ ultimate decision this past October to approve the develop er’s requested rezone for a pro posed 48 townhomes at the cor ner of Stacie Lane and Lee Castleberry Road. That fall vote was a divided 3-1 decision, with District 1 Commissioner Sharon Fausett opposing the measure. In terms of traffic, two access points are shown on the develop- ment’s conceptual plans. Sidewalks and a linear park are part of the proposed improve ments on Lee Castleberry Road between its intersection with Lumpkin Campground Road at the new roundabout and Ga. 400. Other planning recommenda tions include the widening of Lee Castleberry Road, an eastbound deceleration lane going into the development and turning lanes off of the roadway. However, area resident Carol Weathers pointed out that no red light was planned thus far for the intersection of Ga. 400 and Lee Castleberry Road. Weathers explained that the traffic would make it difficult to enter and exit her property just off of the state highway. “Somebody’s going to get hurt there sooner or later if there’s not a light not put in there, especially with all the homes and people that are going to be moving in there,” Weathers said. During the Aug. 16 meeting, Stark acknowledged that even with the traffic challenges, his company’s land along Lee Castleberry Road was the right place for the proposed subdivi sion. “Being on the far south side of the county and this close to Ga. 400, we think this is really smart growth,” Stark said. “It’s sur rounded by all of these exact uses and all of these exact zon- ings.” FROM 1A Wish It was well worth it for Mason’s family and friends to see his smiles, given the teen’s challeng ing year since being diag nosed with stage four Glioblastoma last November around Thanksgiving. The good news about the truck came after Mason changed to taking at-home cancer treatments from the Houston, Texas- based Burzynski Clinic, a facility that’s had success with curing Glioblastoma in other patients. So far, recent MRI scans have shown decreased fluid and swelling in Mason’s head and, thank fully, no tumor forming. As the wish gifter, Max Grant shares a unique link with Mason, in that he was also diagnosed with a type of brain cancer four years ago. Max’s mother, Lori Grant, explained that her son began experiencing symptoms like nausea and dizziness. After about a year-and-a-half of trying to figure out what was going on, doctors diag nosed him with an Ependymoma, a tumor that can form on the brain or spinal cord. Fortunately, though, the tumor wasn’t yet attached, so surgeons were able to successfully remove it from Max. Two weeks later, Max’s oncologist submitted his name to Make-A-Wish Georgia. Lori called the gesture a “bright spot” in the whole situation, “from something happening to him to some thing positive.” However, granting Max’s initial wish of a skid steer, a type of small construction machine, proved tricky, as the orga nization hadn’t had a kid ask for that before. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the fac tories that make skid steers stopped making them. Though Max amended his request to be a mini-X instead, finding that also proved difficult. Max was later given the option to deny his wish or perhaps give something to an area hospital or somebody else. “His sister, Mattie, sug gested giving it to Mason and instantly he was like, ‘That’s what I should do,”’ Lori said. “That’s when he said, ‘Eve already got my wish. I’m healthy. I don’t have a tumor anymore. I can do everything I want to again.” As a teacher, Lori knew Mason’s sister, Malina, from working in the same school she was attending. When they initially reached out to Make-A- Wish Georgia, the organi zation actually said Mason wasn’t on their list, so Malina took the lead in submitting her younger brother. Mason asked Max to go with him to the custom car shop to help design the truck, because he wanted the elder teen to be a part of the process, Lori added. During the truck’s Sept. 1 debut, Make-A-Wish Georgia arranged for Max to hand Mason the keys and help unveil the truck. Robert said his son com municated his gratitude “with smiles more so than words.” “I was glad to see a smile on his face,” Max said of Mason. “That was all I cared about.” “It’s unusual for kids to have such a diagnosis like that in the same county,” Lori said. “Our paths have crossed many times...so it’s kind of neat that they got to bond over that.” She encouraged com munity members to remember Mason and keep rooting for him. Although Max was the one to give his wish to Mason, the older teen wants the focus to remain on Mason. Currently, Mason’s wish for a boat to indulge in his beloved pastime of fishing is on hold, for similar rea sons that Max’s original wish was. Overall, though, Alison wrote in a recent Facebook post that her son’s spirits and appearance have kept improving, allowing him to fish and spend time at the lake, go to DCHS foot ball games and have fun with family and friends. Mason even hopes to be able to return to in-person school soon, and he’s about to celebrate his 17th birthday later this month. Alison shared that she “sees God working in Mason every single day” and continues to “have faith and believe that Mason will be healed 100 percent.” Meanwhile, the Palmours expect to host another fundraiser for the teen in the coming weeks, so people are encouraged to keep an eye out for updates on the MasonStrong Fundraising Facebook page. Robert explained that they still have a “long way to go” raising funds for the rest of Mason’s treatments, as well as more medica tion to stop another tumor from forming and reme dies for pain management. People interested in organizing a fundraiser may also reach out to the Palmours through the fun draising Facebook page. Robert again thanked the community for rallying around Mason over the past year. Various fundraisers have been held this spring to raise money for the teen’s medical costs, and the teen has a #MasonStrong GoFundMe. Mason also has a bank account with Bank OZK in Dawsonville for people wanting to make a deposit there on behalf of him. “If something’s needed [with Mason], it’s there. They come through. They help out,” Robert said. Max Grant’s wish, gift ed to Mason, is one of 450 wishes Make-A-Wish Georgia is trying to grant this year, said VP of Marketing and Communications Amy Alvarez. “Even in the pandemic, we didn’t stop bringing wishes to life for local kids,” Alvarez said. “We’ve decided to make a huge commitment to grant 1,000 wishes by the end of 2022. Every child deserves a wish.” Individuals wanting to get involved with Make-A- Wish Georgia can learn more about how to do so at georgia.wish.org. Robert said it meant a lot to him to see Max’s “sure selflessness” to do that, when the older teen could have asked for any thing. “That’s what I want kids to see,” Robert said. “This is who you need to strive to be and who you need to follow.” Dawson County Humane Society a no kill shelter Doggy Spotlight Meet Paisley! Hello there big world! My name is Paisley and I am a gorgeous red and white Spaniel Mix. All my legs are white and red speckled and I have mesmerizing chocolate brown eyes that will melt your heart! I weigh about 30 pounds and am estimated to be 1.5 years old. I would need an adopter that could give me that patience, time, and love that I need to transform into the brave, independent girl that I know I can be! I am quite frightened of kids, men, and loud noises (I need a home with women only). I would benefit from a dog friend to play with and teach me how to be a dog. I am house-trained too. I will chase cats. I am currently available for adoption. If you are interested in meeting with me, please fill out an application or call the Humane Society of Forsyth County at 770-887-6480, Tuesday through Saturday, for more information. All my love and kisses, Paisley 706-265-9160 Paisley For more information contact the 706-265-9160 | 633 Martin Rd, Dawsonville Dawson County Humane Society Adjacent to the Rock Creek Sports Complex Visit our RESALE SHOP & BOUTIQUE Wed. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. | 54 S. Lumpkin Campground Rd. All proceeds benefits the Humane Society Bradley M. Maple CPA, PC 706-216-2362 2390 Thompson Rd • Ste 100 Dawsonville ANH Collision Specialists 706-216-0992 103 Industrial Park Road, Dawsonville Dawsonville Veterinary Hospital 706-265-8381
